Classroom Confessions

:: Mondays make me nervous that I may not have the motivation to begin school work.
:: The closet of my classroom looks like 321 bins of classroom things threw up.

:: I have a secret stash of smarties hidden away, when caught chewing I swallow quickly!

:: Classical music plays throughout the day and sometimes I doze off

::My heart still soars when I visually see the children 'get' something.

:: I love organizing and reorganizing my book shelves

:: I have feelings of insecurity over their education daily
:: I love the smell of Expo markers

:: I worry

:: I laugh
:: I love

The kids each have Science labs in their bedrooms and the bases are IKEA coffee tables, needless to say they need to be replaced often. They get exploded on, wet, drawn on, experimented on and so much more...this leads to a lot of wear but I am so glad they love to create. As we replaced one, I was ready to toss this, but realized we could use it in the classroom as a gaming center or for group work. Our first project is to give it a makeover this month. Nothing that costs money and using things that are only found around the house. This should be interesting! Hahaha!

Last week I bit the bullet and signed up the children AND I for an adoration hour at our church. This is 1 hour spent in silence with the Lord. I know the big kids will be fine with it but I was worried about the youngest. I figured I would make Adoration Bags filled with things that they can do on their own to reflect and pray to the Lord. I will share 1 each day and they will remain linked over on my LITTLE CATHOLIC HOMESCHOOL post. This week the youngest will have a book on the 12 Disciples along with our foam playset of the 12 Disciples that he can use while reading the story. (I will post more on this playset on the LCH post later). He also has a chunky rosary with a Fr. Lovasik book on praying the rosary. A bible verses book to reflect quietly over and once he has done those things, he has his  Larry Boy book to read. This is more than enough to keep him occupied but I would rather have too much than not enough. All of it is tucked away in his Veggie Tales soft sided bag.

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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Wordless Wednesday...(nearly)

Late night miniature golfing had us tired but laughing hysterically. 

I love letting them loose in a book store, because I always find them huddled together. 

Starbucks is our favorite getaway after a busy school day!

Enjoy every minute my friends...

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Just Mommy N Me!

Hello Tuesday! Today has me chatting about the Mother/Child relationship. I aim to make this relationship one that they will treasure always. I am not looking to become their buddy, but someone that they can always come to. I want them to know that as a Mother, I make decisions that they will not always like, but they are always for the best. I want them to understand that though I may lose my temper, I always love them. I want my children to understand that even though I have 3 children, there is room in my heart for each of them. In 1 day, there are only so many hours that I can spend with each child as an individual, so I wanted to find ways in which we could always interact and if need be communicate without the rest of the world around.

After a posting from a reader that spoke of Mommy N Me notebooks, I knew this was just the thing. I quickly made up notebooks and explained their purpose on page 1. Each child gets a notebook in which we exchange notes or pictures or anything at all that may come up in the day. We take turns writing in it and when we are through with it, we put it on the receivers pillow. There are colorful pens and colored pencils that we use for just our notebooks. Every now and then Daddy will sneak in a note and it's always a random surprise for the kids and even for Mommy!  

1-on-1 dates are always fun for the kids. These make them feel special to have undivided attention from mom. Our dates usually take up about 3 hours time and can be anything at all that the child requests. Gabriel usually loves to go out for Ice Cream and then Go Karting, Miniature Golfing, Train Ride or the Science Museum.

Princess Autumn absolutely loves Mommy Time and it usually ends up with us getting Mani/Pedi's and going to a movie. Sometimes she mixes it up with a request for a Fancy Dinner out or reading books for hours while drinking tea at Barnes & Noble.

Roman is easy to please and always predictable! He loves sweets and chocolate milk and will often suggest a bakery. He likes to play in parks, no matter what the weather and then end our time together with a new matchbox car. The crazy thing is that he can find a matchbox car and often come up with the memory as to when he got it. It's pretty cool. 

How do you spend time with your kids?

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